The present invention relates generally to pest control methods and apparatus, nd more particularly to an insect barrier and deterrent device or preventing ants, roaches, and other crawling insects from obtaining access to the contents of a food or water containing structure, such as a pet dish or livestock trough or feeder, or a food preparation surface, such as a kitchen table, from the adjacent ground, floor, or other support surface.
Pet owners frequently leave food and/or water dishes outdoors for use by their pets. It is not uncommon for pet dishes to be left outdoors around the clock, and not just at mealtimes. Outdoor pets are usually fed outdoors, so keeping the dishes outside at all times is reasonable. Moreover, some owners of outdoor pets may simply find it inconvenient to bring food or water dishes indoors; others may consider the convenience of the pets in having food and water handy at all times as reason enough to leave the dishes filled and outside.
Even for indoor pets, however, some persons might choose to feed them and keep their dishes outside simply for health reasons. In some case, such as for very large pets or those that are not fully domesticated, it would be extremely impractical or unwise to consider feeding such animals indoors, so their dishes or trays are placed outside by necessity. Livestock are frequently provided with outdoor feeding trays or troughs. Even if such livestock feeders are located inside a barn or similar structure, however, as far as access by ants or other insects is concerned, the feeders might as well be outdoors.
In all of those situations discussed above where food and/or water containers for pets or other animals are left outside for extended periods, a problem exists with ants, roaches, and other insects or pests gaining access to the contents of such containers before the pet or other animal has finished with them. This is troublesome and wasteful, because usually the unfinished food will have to be disposed of. The pets will usually refuse to eat from the insect-contaminated dishes, and the owners usually will be reluctant to attempt to rid the dishes of insects while retaining the contents. Besides the adverse effects of such insect contamination on the health and disposition of the pet, the pet owner's disposition is not likely to be uplifted by discovering that his pet's dish has fostered an insect infestation on his patio or back porch. Even in situations where the animal continues to eat or drink from the insect-contaminated dish or the like, such contamination is undesirable, because there is still the possibility that the insects will bite or sting the animal, or otherwise adversely affect its health. If nothing else, such insect infestation is very displeasing aesthetically.
Insect infestation is not a problem limited to the outdoors, however; pet dishes are also susceptible of drawing ants and the like even when left indoors. Infestation of pet dishes left indoors, while probably relatively less common, is nonetheless troubling. In addition, food preparation surfaces such as tables and counters typically found in home kitchens and commercial establishments are also likely to attract crawling insects. Many of such tables and counters are of the free-standing type, supported by legs as opposed to being attached to a wall or the like. For tables and counters such as these, if insects are deterred from crawling up the legs, then the food and food preparation surfaces above are more easily kept crawling insect-free.
Furthermore, insects such as ants, and in particular fire ants, are bothersome pests whether or not they invade outdoor pet food dishes. Children and pets often fall victim to the stinging bite of the fire ant while playing outdoors. Adults working or lounging in the yard can also be surprised by the sudden sting of these tiny but aggressive creatures. While there are insecticides on the market for controlling yard pests such as fire ants, they are usually simply applied to the infested areas and then left exposed to the elements, as well as people or pets in the vicinity. This could lead to unintended exposure of the people or pets to powerful, potentially harmful chemicals. Moreover, exposed chemicals are susceptible of being scattered by lawnmowers, or drawn up into bagging-type mowers along with the grass clippings.
Several different approaches have been taken in the past toward providing a crawling insect-free pet dish. For example, Welch et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,954 discloses a pet bowl having an outer liner with a first downwardly and outwardly extending annular lip near its upper end, and an inner liner spaced from the outer liner and with a second downwardly and outwardly extending annular lip at its upper end. The two liners are removably attached to one another, as by a snap-together fit. A non-toxic substance such as petroleum jelly is placed on the surfaces enclosing the space between the liners. The gap and lips, and the non-toxic substance on the opposing faces of the gap, are intended to prevent crawling insects from gaining access to the contents of the bowl. Salinas U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,772 discloses an animal feeder with a water-filled base and an arm extending upwardly from the base. A feed bowl(s) is supported from the arm, with the water acting as a physical barrier to passage of crawling insects. A combined food and water dish is disclosed in Haney U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,080. The Haney apparatus suspends the food dish from a post in the middle of the water dish, the water again acting as a barrier to passage of insects from the floor or ground to the food dish. Use of a water-filled barrier (or "moat") around the food dish is also disclosed in Sinclair U.S. Pat. No. 2,584,301. The Sinclair device also raises the food dishes off the ground on legs.
Elevated pet dishes also have been proposed in the past, although not necessarily for the purpose of keeping the dishes crawling insect-free. Sometimes elevation of the dishes has been proposed for facilitating the pet's reaching the contents regardless of the size of the pet. See, for example, Brown U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,759; Wix U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,629. Holland U.S. Pat. No. 4,546,730 discloses an elevated pet dish combined with a tether. The elevated dish of Holland is also disclosed as being anchored so as not to be easily overturned. Anchoring of a pet dish to avoid overturning is also disclosed in Jones U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,131. An elevated pet dish combined with a food storage facility is disclosed in Teschke U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,089.
While the insect-free pet dishes of the prior art may have some advantageous features peculiar to each of them, none of them is as simple and inexpensive to make and as easy to use as the preferred embodiment of the pet dish of the present invention. The Welch device, for example, with its snap-together double walls and specially formed lips is much more complicated than the preferred embodiment of the pet dish of the present invention. Moreover, the Welch device is not adapted for use with insecticides as is the present invention, which is discussed in detail below. The water barrier devices are also relatively complicated, and also suffer the drawback of having the water barrier subject to spillage, evaporation, and the like. While elevation of the pet dishes as disclosed in the prior art discussed above lends itself to insect protection, such elevation alone will not prevent insects from gaining access to the contents; such elevation must be combined with a barrier in order to keep the food crawling insect-free.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pet dish which is crawling insect-free, and which does not suffer from the drawbacks of the prior art discussed above. It is also an object of the present invention to provide such an insect-free pet dish which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use, and effective for keeping crawling insects away from the contents of the dish.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a removable barrier to crawling insects which can be installed on the legs of a table or counter for preventing the insects from gaining access to the food or food preparation surface above the barrier.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a device having a renewable or rechargeable barrier of insecticide-containing material for preventing crawling insects from obtaining access to the contents of a food or water containing structure, such as a pet dish or livestock trough or feeder, or a food preparation surface, such as a kitchen table, from the adjacent ground, floor, or other support surface. It is another object of the present invention to provide protection of the insecticide-containing material from the elements, and from access by the pets.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a barrier of a slick plastic substance in place of the insecticide-containing material in the invention as discussed in the preceding paragraph.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide elevation for a pet dish, coupled with an improved, effective, renewable insect barrier.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a protected barrier of insecticide-containing material to cover an ant mound or the like, in order to contain the insecticide and prevent its scattering or dispersal by mowers or the elements, and to prevent contact by people and pets. It is another object of the present invention to provide an anchoring means for holding the barrier close to the ground and permitting a mower to pass over it without harm.